May I Cry On Your Shoulder A Bit?

Hi.  I'm pretty new here.  I posted earlier this month about the breeds of several cats who reside at our local no-kill Humane Society.

Our director is in poor health.  Our Cat Rooms are in the walk-out basement of her home.  Recently, we were told she cannot provide for the cats any more and that if homes weren't found for them soon, all 16 kitties will be taken to the nearest "kill facility" to be destroyed.

I have been volunteering at the shelter for over 3 years now.  I know and love every one of these cats.  I can't even imagine how terrified they will be - taken to a strange place from the only home they have probably ever had and then being executed and thrown away like garbage.  It's just a nightmare situation.

If they have to lose their lives, I would want a vet to come in and put them down with kindness in their familiar surroundings.  But I'm just a volunteer, and my opinions/ideas don't matter.  I know their deaths will break my heart and I will never be the same.

The kitties have been listed on Petfinder.com and Facebook.  I'm going to contact a Siamese rescue about possibly taking a few of them.  I have been researching "no-kill" facilities nearby.  I live in an area with low population.  What very few shelters that do exist appear to be overwhelmed with cats already.  I imagine no-kill shelters all over the U.S. are in the same situation.  It's so discouraging - getting no response from anyone.

Our shelter seems to give top priority to dogs.  The Humane Society members and the people in my small town don't seem to care much about the cats.  The two or three people who do care (including me) don't have the money to provide a place for our kitties to live.  I'm older and disabled and can't take any more cats myself.

I'm sorry to dump this here.  I know you folks on this forum cannot do anything to help our kitties.  I just had to tell someone how bad I feel.  

But could whoever reads this find it in their heart to say a prayer for these dear cats?  Or think some kind thoughts about them?  I would really appreciate it.  They deserve any help they can get...

Thank you.

  

TCS is the perfect place to vent about this situation. I can't even imagine how heartbreaking it is for you to get to know each of these cats only to find out that their days are numbered. 

I know it's hard for all rescues to keep their doors open and this sounds no different except now it's become much more dire that each finds a home. I know your goal was just to try and get some of this out (which is totally understandable) but can I offer some suggestions? Nothing may come of it but something might....

Since you have spent time with so many of the cats perhaps you could write fun bios and advertise for them on Craigslist. The new bios could also be added to their Facebook and Petfinder profiles. It's amazing what adding a few words about their personalities can do for getting them adopted. People looking on Petfinder are bombarded by felines needing homes. If you can make some of the more "adoptable" ones pop then they have a much better chance of catching someone's attention. There was recently an article on writing bios on Catster that you may find helpful: http://www.catster.com/lifestyle/cat-adoption-10-tips . 

Even if you can get some adopted, the sad reality is that some will still need to be re-located, and it sounds like that's to the local kill shelter. I think you have a genius idea of wanting a vet to come in and put them down there. After all, if it has to happen then they might as well be as comfortable as possible. So, maybe start calling different vet clinics and tell them whats going on. Or, better yet write a letter explaining the situation and send it out. Who knows, you may find a few compassionate vets willing to donate a couple of hours to come to the house and help them pass peacefully. Yes, you are just a "volunteer"(I can't even tell you how many times I have said this with frustration in my life) but don't let that deter you. I'm sure the director is overloaded and can't handle one more thing on their plate. Perhaps if you get the ball rolling they will be much more likely to go along with it. One person with a good idea can truly move mountains- or in this case felines. You could be that one person! 

I'm sure you are feeling helpless right now since you cannot adopt any yourself but I think there are still some other things you could do to help them. Of course there is always a chance that nothing comes of any of it but at least then you know you tried everything you could. 

I wish I could do something, anything really to help. All I can do is let you know that I hear you and hear your sadness, which you have every right to feel. And, I am sending all my vibes and prayers that at least some of these cats can find new homes!

Even thought they can't tell you I know how much they appreciate everything you have done for them. Don't let this discourage you from continuing to help needy cats in the future- we need more people like you who care! 

What a sad situation. :cross: that at least some of them find homes and that you find a vet who'll agree to your plan for any who don't. Poor babies.

EB24 said:

There was recently an article on writing bios on Catster that you may find helpful: http://www.catster.com/lifestyle/cat-adoption-10-tips . 


Even thought they can't tell you I know how much they appreciate everything you have done for them. Don't let this discourage you from continuing to help needy cats in the future- we need more people like you who care! 

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Excellent adoption tip link!! Couldn't agree more with your statement above. We SO do need people like ShelterHelper!!

Sending truckloads of throughts, prayers and vibes to al of these kitties. So very sad.

My heart is breaking thinking of these poor liitle babies. I'm praying that something can be done, preferably finding them homes. I'll pray for you too, I know the world is a better place with compassionate people like you in it! How can it be that people could be so heartless as to give you a "short time" to help them? Can you get the newspaper or TV station to pick up on your cause? Maybe ther is SOMEONE out there that could help! Please know you are doing all you can, Keep us posted.

Thank you, everyone, for all the kind thoughts and prayers.  It sure makes me feel less alone in all this.

We are hoping to get in contact with two no-kill shelters in the next couple weeks.  I hope we have some luck there.  I'd appreciate any thoughts and prayers.

I'm no computer expert, but I'm going to try to create a slide presentation, showing our cats.  Then you will be able to see why they are so precious and so important to me.

Take care and God Bless you all for caring.

I found a website where I was able to create a "free" slideshow of our kitties.  It turned out pretty well, even though I'm a novice.  Unfortunately, when I got to the end, I found I couldn't save the slideshow to my computer, put it on a DVD or post it on YouTube unless I bought a $50.00 "premium" program.  It's stuck in a "cloud" and the only way I can share it is by email.  So much for "free"...

I need to save as much money as I can.  When we meet with the two no-kill shelters in the area, I and another volunteer are more than willing to give a sizable donation for each cat.  I know they have a lot of kitties already but maybe would be more agreeable to taking them if we help out financially.  If that doesn't work, I don't know what will happen to our kitties.

I appreciate having this forum to talk in.  It's good to be able to talk to people who love cats like I do.  Where I live, I'm surrounded by people who think cats are only good for catching mice and are inferior to dogs.  Thanks for listening.  If we can get the kitties safely placed, I'll gladly spend the $50.00 for the slideshow program and will share our sweethearts with you.

Take care and God Bless.


 

Believe me hun, you are not alone in your despair over homeless kitties. Such a need for people such as yourself. Yeah, bummer about the "free" slideshow upload. I don't have a clue about that but I do hope to see the slideshow sometime. More gigantic vibes coming to you for your efforts on behalf of these cats.

ShelterHelper said:

I found a website where I was able to create a "free" slideshow of our kitties.  It turned out pretty well, even though I'm a novice.  Unfortunately, when I got to the end, I found I couldn't save the slideshow to my computer, put it on a DVD or post it on YouTube unless I bought a $50.00 "premium" program.  It's stuck in a "cloud" and the only way I can share it is by email.  So much for "free"...

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Can you email it to yourself and save it to your computer from the email? If you can do that you should be able to upload it to YouTube. I think. I have no idea how these things work.

Thanks for your kind thoughts and vibes, Lauren, and from all of you.  It means so much to me.  Another shelter volunteer and I are going to a fundraiser for one of the no-kill shelters being held on Sunday.  We hope to introduce ourselves to the director there and arrange for an appointment to meet with her (hopefully very soon).  Please keep your fingers crossed for us.    I hope our weather will improve by then.  (The fundraiser is in a town 30 miles away.)  We've gotten over 8 inches of snow and expect 6 or 7 more inches tonight and tomorrow - along with wind. 

Goldycat, thanks for your suggestion.  I tried that.  I emailed the file to myself and saved it on my computer, where it showed as an "HTML Document".  When I tried to bring it up, it came up as a bunch of computer code.    Obviously, the slideshow programmers thought of that already.  I will buying the program and will share our kitties' slideshow here.  I'm hoping to post it as a celebration of finding homes and/or a no-kill shelter for our sweet cats.  If not, I will post it as a memorial to them.  I want to be able to save the show for myself too.  If I don't, who knows how long the site will keep it in their "cloud" for a free account?

Take care and God Bless.
 

Hello, everyone who has read my posts.  To date, we still haven't placed any kitties.  It doesn't help that I live in a sparsely populated area.  I and another volunteer have had a preliminary meeting with one of the area no-kill shelters.  But they are full of cats.  I have to go out of town next week for 9 days.  We hope to get an appointment with the other no-kill shelter when I get back.  Please continue to pray for our babies.  I'm so afraid for them.  We haven't been given a date for our shelter closing.  So that uncertainty looms over us too.

I took the plunge and subscribed to the slideshow software I mentioned here earlier.  After buying that, I was able to upload the slideshow as a video to YouTube.  Here is a link to it:


After seeing our dear cats, maybe everyone will understand why I love them so much and am so worried about them.  Take care, everyone, and God Bless.

Dear shelter helper, I am trying very hard not to cry, omg they are so beautiful and your video was excellent. I also work at a shelter and understand how you feel. Maybe you could contact any vets in your vicinity and request info on any rescue orga izations, they sometimes work with these rescue orgs, you may have to make a long drive to get to them but it would be worth it. I would tell all vets your predicament and beg for their help, if they have to be put to sleep( I am praying they won't ). Best of luck to those gorgeous babies and to you.